Violent Behavior: Overview

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Americans committed an estimated 1.4 million violent crimes in 1999.

Many factors, including environment, medications and brain functioning, influence the occurrence of violent behavior.

A National Institute of Justice study released in 2001 indicated that childhood abuse or neglect could dramatically increase the likelihood of arrest for violent behavior. Such abuse increased the likelihood of arrest as a juvenile by nearly 60%, and as an adult by nearly 30%. Childhood abuse and neglect also increased the likelihood of arrest for a violent crime by 30%.

Scientists have discovered that injury to, or a congenital defect of, the portion of the brain responsible for controlling impulses, the prefrontal cortex, may predispose individuals to violent behavior. For instance, scientists at the University of Southern California found that dozens of convicted murderers in California prisons had abnormal brain functioning in the prefrontal cortex.

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